Review summary

Good points

Bad points

• Missing features like spell-check and add-ons.

• Poor HTML support

• No anti-phishing

• Web-based applications run slowly

Our verdict

Overall Avant is a decent web browser. It does its job and a little bit more. It doesn’t offer all of the extras of the top browsers, but it performs its main function just as well. Without add-ons and poor HTML5 support, however, it’s hard to imagine a good reason to use Avant.

Full review

Setup

After downloading the setup file from AvantBrowser.com, launch it on your computer. The installation for Avant is super fast; however, Avant will set itself as the default browser without your permission.

Browsing

Tab browsing -Much like all modern web browsers, Avant uses tab browsing for its organization. It’s pretty basic, but not quite as user friendly as we would like. Tabs can only be closed if they are selected, and moving tabs isn’t so simple. Adding and ripping out tabs into a new window is easy, however.

Search box -Avant’s search box is located right next to the address bar. By using the drop down menu, users can choose from a long list of search engines. Also, the box can be used to search for specific words within a webpage.

Private browsing -Click the Avant icon in the top left corner of the browser, and a full list of browsing options become available. Included in that list, is private browsing. By starting a private browsing session, you won’t have to worry about any history being kept or cookies being stored. Everything is deleted once the window is closed.

History -The browser will keep tabs on your browser history from the moment you start browsing. History is organized in folders by date. Individual pages can be deleted from your history, or you can choose to clear it entirely.

Favorites -Avant makes it simple to add a page to your bookmarks. Either right click the page and select “Add to bookmarks,” or click the star located at the top right of the browser. Bookmarks are kept with a basic folder setup, but can also sit underneath the URL bar if you desire.

Speed

Avant has acceptable performance when it comes to basic navigation, but we experienced significant slow down when trying run web-based applications like email clients or Google Docs. Overall it should be a pleasant experience for you, but it won’t beat the top browsers.

Security

Pop-up blocker -Avant will attempt to block every pop-up that tries to get on your screen. It will notify you when a pop-up is blocked, just in case it blocks something you wanted to access.

Features

Multi-processing -Each open tab is assigned to a different process than the others. This means less frequent crashes. If one tab starts to fail, the others won’t go down with it.

Video & audio HTML 5 support -Avant does have HTML5 support, but it’s lacking in comparison to other browsers. According to html5test.com, Avant isn’t the best supporter out there. It only scores 137 out of a possible 500 points according to the site, which is low when compared to other browsers.

Split view -You can easily view and navigate web pages side-by-side with Avant. The size of each window can be easily resized with a simple click and drag.

Video Sniffer -If the browser detects a video on a webpage, it will allow you to download the video with a single click.

Ease of use

Avant isn’t any different from other web browsers in terms of navigation and usability. It has a few more options on the main screen, which can be customized to your liking. The extra options up front might confuse users initially, but it’s nice to have that ease of access.

Help & support

Avant has an FAQ page and a full-featured forum to help answer any questions and address issues. Posting a question on the forum will get you can answer from Avant moderators. If the forum isn’t enough, users also have the option to send messages via email.

Overall

When compared to the top browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, Avant just doesn’t compete. Its average speed, poor HTML performance and lack of add-ons make Avant a poor choice for your main internet browser. Unless you need an easy way to pull videos from websites onto your computer, it’s a good idea to turn away from Avant and toward the top browsers.

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